GERMANY - Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Berlin this weekend to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, a German government spokesman has confirmed. “Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 18, 2018 at federal government’s Schloss Meseberg,” according to a statement from government spokesman Steffen Seibert, referring to an 18th-century palace 50 miles northwest of Berlin. Seibert did not elaborate on the details of the visit, only saying “relevant foreign policy issues” will be discussed. The relations between Putin and Merkel have had ups and downs, but the pair have always managed to come to terms, even in times when the West was at odds with Russia.